ABA Journal

Alaska

95 ABA Journal Alaska articles.

In states where inmates can vote, few exercise their right to cast ballots

When Sen. Bernie Sanders championed voting rights for prisoners during a CNN town hall, he spotlighted an intensifying national debate about why going to prison means losing the right to vote.

Are pets assets or part of the family?

California became the third state in the U.S. to adopt a law that allows judges to consider what’s in the best interests of the animal rather than treating the pet like other inanimate property, such as a car. Alaska and Illinois have passed similar laws since 2016. The new laws are groundbreaking because they come amid growing interest in protecting pets and settling disputes over them.

Alaska Native leaders to AG Barr: Help fix our law enforcement crisis

Alaska Native leaders called on U.S. Attorney General William Barr for federal aid and greater authority for tribes to prosecute certain crimes, saying Wednesday that a dangerous lack of law…

Supreme Court rules for Alaska moose hunter, says he can ‘rev up his hovercraft’ again

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the National Park Service did not have the authority to ban use of hovercrafts on Alaska’s Nation River.

The high court ruled on…

Alaska Supreme Court asks for pro bono help from around the country for earthquake survivors

On Nov. 30, Alaska residents experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. While there were no casualties, there have been nearly 5,000 aftershocks since. This has resulted in ongoing damage coupled with…

Lowest bar pass rate for California in 67 years; other states see drop, too

Only 40.7 percent of the people who took the California July 2018 bar exam passed, according to a state bar news release.

Alaska governor to propose legislation after offender receives lenient plea deal for sex crime

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker says he plans to propose legislation that would make unwanted contact with semen a sex crime following an outcry over a plea deal for a man…

Miguel Willis: Bringing law to the last frontier

Miguel Willis is only 29, and he’s already created his own job—twice.

Army reverses discharge of immigrant soldier at center of media coverage

The U.S. Army has reversed its discharge of a Brazilian-born recruit after his ouster garnered widespread media coverage.

It’s difficult to describe lawyers’ situations in Puerto Rico, but hurricane damage was ‘extreme’

The impact of the hurricanes over the island was not uniform, with some areas suffering extreme devastation. There was greater havoc in the eastern and central parts of the island, so many lawyers in those communities are still without power in their offices.

States featuring bipartisan support rally for criminal justice reform

Louisiana is part of a nationwide movement toward justice reinvestment—policies aimed at simultaneously reducing crime and reining in corrections spending, while still holding offenders accountable. Gelb calls those goals “our holy trinity.”

Legal aid agency serving the Navajo Nation to close 3 offices

A legal aid office serving a heavily Navajo clientele is shutting three of its nine offices for financial reasons, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Thursday.

DNA-People’s Legal Services…

Alaska law tells divorce judges to consider well-being of pets

An Alaska law that took effect this month requires divorce court judges to consider the well-being of pets when making decisions about which spouse gets to keep the animals.

The…

Lawyers may not use ‘web bugs’ to track email sent to opposing counsel, ethics opinion says

Lawyers should not plant “web bugs” to track the location and use of emails sent to opposing counsel, according to an Alaska ethics opinion.

Species may be called endangered based on projected climate change, 9th Circuit rules

Federal agencies may classify species as threatened based on projected habitat loss due to climate change, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

The ruling came in a…

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